Rigondeaux defeats Donaire

By Mariano A. Agmi at ringside
Photos: Ed Mulholland

In a highly anticipated super bantamweight unification clash, WBA champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (12-0, 8 KOs) scored a one-sided twelve round unanimous decision to take the belt of WBO champion Nonito Donaire (31-2, 20 KOs) on Saturday night at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

Good start for southpaw two-time Olympic gold medalist Rigondeaux, who landed hard shots while avoiding most of Donaire’s bombs. The fight evolved into a tactical contest with Rigondeaux dictating the action. Donaire was unable to solve Rigondeaux’s style until he dropped the Cuban star with a left hook in round ten. That was pretty much Donaire’s only moment in the fight. Rigondeaux recovered well, however, and was back in command after that, teeing off on Donaire in the twelfth. Scores were 114-113, 115-112, 116-111.

Rigondeaux: “The people that know boxing saw that it was a very good fight, it was quality and I made him look the way he looked, which was bad, and I looked great…(I was) boxing and moving. He was frustrated and with one shot you just don’t win a fight.”

Donaire: “To be honest with you, for the last three fights, I’m not taking anything away from Rigondeaux, but I needed surgery on my shoulder. I tore my ligaments for about three years…I’m going to go back to the drawing board, get this shoulder fixed, but again he played a beautiful boxing game and it was my mistake for not changing up.”